Things You’ve Never Had Time To Do – Part Two: The Bar

Things You’ve Never Had Time To Do – Part Two: The Bar

This guide tackles those hygiene tasks to a level that most busy bars would find impossible to do during normal operations

While some suggested actions might appear on your regular hygiene checklist, others might be impractical, so the list below is a more comprehensive list which gives your whole bar a great re-set prior to re-opening.

Feel free to download a more detailed checklist from this page, and watch the related video. In the meantime, here’s a summary of our recommendations:

1. Glasswasher – clean externally and internally, removing filters and spray arms. Make sure any obstructions are removed from the drain as these can destroy the pump. Check feed lines from detergent and rinse-aid aren’t kinked. Sanitise all inner surfaces using a food-grade spray.
2. Glass Storage – Clean down all storage surfaces and replace matting
3. Under-bar lagging – check for leaks, exposed pipework and damage to lagging. Any exposed pipework can contribute to the growth of biofilm, resulting in beer quality and dispense issues, such as fobbing
4. Renovate glassware – most glassware detergents will not prevent to build-up of proteins on the glass surface. It’s a delicate balance between keeping the glasses fully clean, and limiting damage to the glass itself. This is an opportunity to get all glasses cleaned by using a ‘renovate’-type chemical to strip back any unwanted build-up. DO NOT polish inner surfaces of beer glasses with a cloth
5. Bottle fridges – empty, clean and sanitise all surfaces (inside and out) and then replace stock in date order. Destroy any out-of-date stock
6. Optics and Measures – remove all optics and wash them in warm water.
7. Drip Trays – check there are no missing drip trays, and ensure they are all fully clean – and horizontal
8. Bar surfaces – clean and sanitize all bar surfaces, particularly the UNDERSIDE of bar-tops as this is where beer residue accumulates, providing a lovely meal for hungry bar flies
9. Taps and nozzles – remove all nozzles and ensure tap screw threads are cleaned and sanitised. If you have fixed taps, use a tap ball to clean the tap chamber. No cling film is necessary – why? because the lines, taps and nozzles should be empty of beer.

Create a fault list so that any issues can be resolved in time for re-opening